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Nani Iro Linden Sweater love

Today is a very important day because… it’s the last day for our Sewing Mamas November challenge! And this means that I can finally share with you my makes for this month. If you remember from my previous post, the projects to sew this month were a jumper for mama and a dungarees for the little one, and well, here there is one of them: my lovely Linden Sweater by Grainline Studio.

The Linden had been on my sewing list for far too long and it was about time I gave it a go, and I love it! I can foresee many more Lindens popping up in my wardrobe over the next few months and years. It’s definitely become one of my go to patterns.

To be totally honest, I had been brewing this jumper for a long time. I had bought some quilted knit jersey from Miss Matatabi. Then I realised how beautiful it’d look mixed the the Nani Iro quilted cotton fabric. And then I just left everything in a draw being too afraid of cutting into my lovely fabric. I believe this happens to many of us so I don’t feel to guilty, but when Kate suggested we made a jumper as our first project for the challenge, I knew straight away it was time that I cut into those beauties.

Another thing that concerned me is the fact that the Nani Iro quilted cotton is a woven (a pretty stiff one too), not a knit, so when I started to cut and sew my Linden I had already come to terms with the fact that it may just be a disaster. I did modify the lower end of the jumper and avoided the elasticated band at the bottom. Instead, I lengthen both front and back of the main pattern pieces and finished them with a straight hem. Also, I just overlocked the Nani Iro fabric because otherwise it would have been the bulkiest of seams. You can see the detail in this pic:

The back is all made in knit jersey:

Another adjustment that I had to do was reducing the bulk in the front seams. Since the Nani Iro fabric doesn’t adapt very well to the body, I decided to readjust the front seams so they fitted a bit better. I found a great tutorial on Madalynne and it is a simple adjustment to make:

What else can I say? Well, that I am totally in love with my new jumper. It is soft, it is cozy, it fits me, it’s flattering, it’s made of beautiful fabric, it’s unique and… it’s mega warm!! I’m never cold when I wear it, and that’s to say a lot from someone that is pretty much always cold.

That’s it for now! And don’t forget to check the second make for this month’s challenge, some very British baby dungarees! Here you can see both 🙂